Exclusive: Phlemuns Launches a Denim Capsule for Groovy Guys and Gals

“I’m really on the edge of my seat,” says James Flemons over the phone from Los Angeles. The designer, who maintains his label Phlemuns from his L.A. living room, has just launched his first e-commerce shop, and with it a capsule collection of radical, recycled denim pieces. As a solo artist who makes everything himself, this is a big deal, though he’s already had a string of successes. Solange Knowles selected several looks of his for her “Don’t Touch My Hair” video, and he’s a favorite of musicians from Tinashe to Miley Cyrus.

Skim through images of the Phlemuns line, above, and it’s easy to see what makes this guy a favorite of avant-garde dressers. “For this collection, I just revisited silhouettes I had done in the past two or three years that I was really drawn to, the core elements of me as a designer and things that I enjoy creating and putting out into the world,” he says. Among those shapes are slightly flared pants, lace-up tops, kilt-like wrap skirts, and one of the funkier denim jackets in recent memory. The collection is infused with a healthy dose of grooviness—it’s no surprise that he says the ’70s are a perennial reference.

Another thing that makes Phlemuns stand out is its androgynous spirit. “I start with womenswear, and then I translate those pieces to how I would wear them as a male, and then I translate those back to womenswear,” Flemons says. “It’s a back and forth, which I think has aided in my whole united, androgynous vibe. I want this to work for anyone.”